Categorized | Editorial

EDITORIAL: Social Media — The Good and the Bad

In the past week we have seen the positive and negative effects of social media.

social_mediaIf you are not a fan of baseball, you may have not heard this story (If you are, bear with me): Last week Mets Shortstop Wilmer Flores was playing on the field when there were reports of rumors that he had been traded to the Milwaukee Brewers (along with Left Handed Pitcher Zack Wheeler) for outfielder Carlos Gomez. A fan seated near the dugout yelled out to Flores, “Good luck in Milwaukee!” during the game. (Note: players are forbidden to have cell phones and other similar electronic devices in the dugout during the game). Flores was devastated and even at one point cried in the infield. The Met’s Announcers stated that Flores had been traded but were confused as to why he was still in the game. The problem was: THIS WAS A RUMOR! THERE WAS NO CONCRETE PROOF THAT THIS WAS TRUE. There was no phone call from the General Manager to the dugout to pull Flores out of the game (the procedure if you are traded during a game). Met’s Manager Terry Collins stated that he received no phone call, therefore Flores was not traded. After the game was over, Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson made an official announcement that Flores WAS NOT TRADED.

The positive side was that two games later Flores hit a walk-off homerun defeating the Washington Nationals and putting the Mets closer to first place.

The issue here is that social media is both a curse and a blessing. The world has access to instantaneous information. But this information can be true, false or somewhere in-between.

For example, reviews of doctors, teachers or any professionals can be made anonymously. These statements can influence a potential client who is not familiar with the professional in question whether or not to use his or her services. The trouble is ANYONE CAN SAY ANYTHING ABOUT ANYONE AND GET AWAY WITH IT!

How can you be certain that the reviews are based on reliable information? You really don’t know.  If a client genuinely has a gripe or a pleasant experience with the professional, these reviews can either hinder or help the professional.

Another use of Soical Media is crime prevention. Since information is transmitted instantaneously, crime can be caught on cameras, cell phones, etc. and instantly sent to the police. An example of this was the capture of the Boston Marathon Bombers.

Recently there is an outrage on social media about Cecil the Lion who was killed by American Dentist/Hunter Wilmer Palmer in Zimbabwe. The protected lion was lured off the wildlife preserve by his guides and Palmer proceeded to hunt and killed Cecil. Over 500,000 people protested the killing on Facebook. Without the internet, this type of exposure would be limited.

The positive side of this tragedy is that thousands of dollars were raised for wildlife preservation.

Both good and bad comes from social media. Maybe other issues such as the plight of women in the Mid-east such as slave trafficking of young girls will be brought to greater light. These and other issues that many people are not familiar with can be brought out in the open.

In an interview with Arthur C. Clarke in 1976, Clarke, the Futurist sees devices such as cell phones, tablets and laptops enriching people’s lives It’s amazing to see how much he predicted came to be.

These devices that we now take for granted are here to stay. Who knows what the next ten years will bring? K.M.     

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